The Ugly Daughter Podcast

The purpose of this podcast is to inspire, to encourage and to share with you the knowledge I learned from some of my great life teachers from around the world that helped a broken person like me to have a successful and fulfilling life. My mission is to guide and help you to find peace, happiness and riches that you so rightly deserve.

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In this episode, I’m talking with C.S. Boag, whom I greatly respect, look up to and consider a dear friend.

C.S. is a talented, award-winning author. He’s best known for his wonderful, hilarious, wicked detective series called Mr. Rainbow.

At an age when most of us are ready to throw in the towel, C.S. found not only success but also true love. He is living proof that anything is possible, it’s never too late to start afresh and achieve your dreams.

I’m so grateful that he has agreed to this interview where he shares part of his journey, life principles and fabulous tips on success with us. Tune in and listen to what this wise man has to say.

Today I’m talking to a brave and determined young woman who’s speaking out against her culture and looking to make a change in her community.

Fatu was born in Sierra Leone. As a young girl, she was subjected to a cruel and brutal practice called Female genital mutilation (FGM) also known as female genital cutting or the somehow innocent sounding female circumcision.

This is by no means similar to male circumcision. FGM is the ritual removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. It involves the total removal of the clitoris and the narrowing of the vaginal opening through stitching or cutting and repositioning the labia minora or labia majora. The practice has no health benefits whatsoever. In fact, it harms girls and women in many ways and sometimes it leads to death.

It is one of the most extreme forms of violence against girls and women across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The practice has also been found around the western world, in countries such as Australia, UK, USA, Canada etc. It is estimated that more than 200 million young girls and women around the globe have been mutilated and are living in immense physical and psychological pain.

Soness Stevens is the Head Speaker Coach for multiple TEDx events and has coached over 109 TED & TEDx speakers. She represented Japan for TED Worldwide, spoke at TEDxFukuoka and TEDxWasedaU.

Soness has a weekly nationwide broadcast TV show on communications and is an Associate Professor of business presentation skills at YNU. You may have seen her on NHK TV and Fox TV Japan, or heard her as the official English voice of Hello Kitty. She lives near the beach and practices Zazen Meditation at her local temple in Japan.

I’m so grateful to have Soness Stevens on the show and I’m so thankful for her willingness to share with us her intimate and very personal life journey living with a mother who was suffering from mental illness.

For a good half of her young life she lived in a car with her mother and brother. They were constantly on the move, running from landlords because her mother didn’t have a job and could not afford to pay rent. Despite growing up in such a difficult circumstance, drifting from place to place, Soness went on and became a beautiful, positive and successful individual. Her ability to see life in colours as a child is truly inspiring!

Genna is a beautiful young lady. She dedicates her life and sacrifices her personal finances to help the poor and the underprivileged half way around the world. At the age of 19 she raised enough money to build a school for the people in a remote community in Kenya. And she has been unstoppable ever since. She has a nine to five job just like most of us and every free moment she gets she spends on raising funds to provide financial assistance, basic needs and teach the women and children in Kenya life skills so that they can stand on their own feet.

She’s full of life, passion and love. She goes above and beyond to help those in need. She’s a rare kind and such a great pleasure to know.

Rape is an epidemic issue around the globe. It could happen to anyone of us, regardless of our race, gender, sexual orientation or religion. Especially children, women, the elderly and people with physical and mental disabilities are easy targets of rape because of their vulnerability.

My friend Amanda is one of the rape victims and survivors. After she had lived with the shame and guilt for many decades, she’s ready to face her demons and deal with the horrific past head on. I’m grateful that she’s willing to share her journey with us today with the hope that she could inspire and bring some comfort for some of you out there that have gone through the terrible ordeal by sharing her story.